7. India–EU FTA: Implications for India’s Marine Products

With the growing trade integration of India with the world, trade in marine products, like any other sector of the Indian economy, has become exposed to heightened international competition. After being stalled for several years, recent calls were made to resume the India–EU FTA negotiations. In India, marine products trade is significant in terms of providing employment to the millions of poor people, and the EU is one of the largest trading partners of India in this sector. In this backdrop, the paper aims to assess the impact of India–EU FTA through trade and economic linkages. The paper seeks to examine the problems faced by Indian exporters of marine product, and the strategies to enhance the marine exports of India under the Indo-EU FTA. The study indicates that though the EU is a major marine export destination of India even today, but its share has been continuously declining over time. Even though the EU imposes relatively lower tariffs on India’s marine products, India faces many constraints in exporting marine products to the EU. Under the proposed India–EU FTA, the present non-tariff barriers, particularly the stringent regulations and standards, need to be addressed so as to reach a mutually beneficial solution.